Contact Information

All News

Argyle International Airport Signs MOU With Kayan Aviation Holdings

Details

Created: 31 July 2018

Chief Executive Officer of the Argyle International Airport (AIA), Mr. Hadley Bourne, has highlighted the rendering of quality service as a priority area for the AIA.

This was highlighted on Saturday 28th July 2018, at the AIA, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with Kayan Aviation Holdings, for the construction of a Fixed Based Operations (FBO), and Commercially Important People (CIP), lounge at the airport.

Mr. Bourne thanked Ms. Annette Mark, Chief Executive Officer of Invest SVG, for the work done in pushing and promoting the project, and is looking forward to the AIA now having the best FBO facility in the region.

Mr. Bourne said that he was holding Dr. Uday Nayak to having the CIP up and running by the winter season, as some of the major airline players, especially American Airlines, which would begin direct flights to the island starting in December, have Clientele who are quite interested in this type of service.

He also said that he was glad that investor confidence had returned to AIA. “There was a lot of uncertainties surrounding the airport in its initial stages, and having foreign investors show that there is viability in AIA, really shows that we are doing the right thing, just 18 months into operations, and I am looking forward to the partnership, a long term partnership”.

Mr. Bourne added that the CIP would be an added plus to the facility and, stressed that one of the things they want to drive at Argyle is that, although it may be small in terms of size, compared to some of its neighbours, providing quality service is a priority.

Ms. Annette Mark, who was instrumental in making this possible, said that, when she met Dr. Nayak, he was interested in doing an FBO here and the CIP. She added that he was no stranger to the Caribbean, as he owns and operates an FBO in St. Kitts. He also owns Kayan Aviation Holdings, a leasing company for aeroplanes. Ms. Mark said that the FBO will change the landscape further for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the AIA, and she looks forward to having it here.

She added that it would be quite an investment, and will also provide job opportunities for Vincentians. “It is something that is essential, and will add to our tourism product, as we move forward in developing our tourism product”. The MOU allows for Dr. Nayak and AIA to get all the legal issues and plans etc., in place, before breaking ground at the end of the year.

The MOU was signed by Mr. Bourne and Dr. Nayak. Before signing the MOU, Dr. Nayak said that when he visited this country, he was overwhelmed with the beauty of it. He noted that the FBO owned by his company in St. Kitts is the most beautiful FBO in the Caribbean.

The architect contracted on the project has already visited and thrown some ideas out, and Dr. Nayak said that he was looking forward to getting the project to the next step before the construction mode. The investment in the lounge is valued at approximately seven (7) to eight (8) million US dollars.